Pack light. You will be spending the vast majority of your time in your NCCC uniform, which will include a very warm jacket, beanie, pants, shorts, t-shirts, long-sleeves, steel-toed boots, sweatshirt, and maybe more that I’m forgetting.
Pack tons of socks and underwear. Sometimes, when it’s really cold, doubling socks can be nice. Also, depending on where you’re sent, it can be easier to bring extra underwear instead of needing to find a laundry mat all the time.
Bring a couple nice outfits for outings (their is a bar located right off the Perry Point campus that N-trips love, not to mention the many outings you might take in New Orleans, or other non-rural locations). Bring good, warm PJs. A couple pairs of jeans, your favorite warm jacket, a pair of shorts and Ts for summertime. Cover all your seasonal bases, but know that it is quite likely you’ll accumulate a ton of clothes during your 10 months. Especially T-shirts!!! I have at least 12 T-shirts from different projects that I’ll be making a quilt out of some day. :P
If you have them, a laptop, cell phone, and mp3 are good items to bring. They WILL be put to use.
Bring some books, a journal/notebook, a handful of family photos, warm bed sheets, and any small items that keep you sane. The truth is that you’ll receive a “red bag” that you take with you on spikes (projects). Youre (generally) not allowed to take more than you can fit in it, meaning you’ll be leaving some of your stuff at your room on campus. Pack light, but bring some of what you love, but be as unattached as possible because things happen. If you can happily live without it, leave it home.
If you play an instrument the size of a guitar or smaller, I encourage you to bring it. We had some amazing music nights, a couple talent shows, and just some free time spent jamming.
If you’ve got an extra mp3 auxiliary cable, bring it!! It’ll make for much nicer van trips.
Bring snacks to stash. It’s fun.
Art supplies or anything else you really love to do. Knitting was a good one for van trips. Have any magazines you love sent to you from home.
Seems like I’ve listed a lot? That’s why I started out with ‘pack light.’ You CAN bring a lot, but it will be a pain to have too much. Think about what things you really want to do in your free time. If it’s reading, painting or doing yoga- bring that! If it’s all three, know you can find books anywhere and you wont necessarily need your yoga mat. :)
I do think bringing a scarf, gloves, sunglasses, and bug-spray are good items, if you feel you may want them.
Best of luck and enjoy your experience!!!
